ifYou See This on Facebook, Please Don't Use It!

[Sheila]

I saw this on Facebook tonight & just about fainted. I put the big "no" sign on it (so someone wouldn't see it, think it was a good idea & share without reading the comments) & then posted it on my team's page & on the pages of my upline. I'm sure the person who designed it had good intentions, but the repercussions would be like a snowball rolling downhill (or, in this case, uphill to your upline & to HO).

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/227657_10200310070139590_286899841_n.jpgPlease DO NOT do this! I just saw this floating around on Facebook. It might look like a good idea, but trust me, it could come back to bite you (and your upline) in the end.First of all, HO's wording is "within the first year"But most importantly, read this excerpt from the "returns" section on page 10 of the policy guide:
"...
• Per the Consultant Agreement, a Consultant authorizes the Company to deduct commissions, overrides and other amounts due to a Consultant on products returned by customers.
• On any adjustment to commissions or overrides over $20, the Consultant will be notified by Consultant Career Solutions.
• In addition, any manipulation of Cooking Shows or orders through product returns will result in loss of commissionable sales, awards and earnings for the Consultant and upline(s).
• The Pampered Chef® is not responsible for any loss of incentives or awards, Director promotion/maintenance requirements or Consultant activity status"What does that mean? Home Office can and has been known to go back & take away those sales for the month the item is sold when whole orders are returned and/or if they see a pattern of returns by your hosts/customers. This means the returns could change a consultant's paycheck for the month the sale was made which could affect your incentives earned that month, trip points you thought you had, Excellence Awards ... AND, if it means your "active" status drops to "inactive", or if it means team sales dropped lower than the requirement your upline needed that month to be "paid as" their title, it would mean an adjustment to your Director's pay & title that month if she was counting on you and your sales for her title, and could affect her Director if they were counting on her, and their Director ...Any time a customer says they are not satisfied with a product, you should definitely make sure they know about our Satisfaction Guarantee, but it's just not good business for you or your upline for you to be out there marketing this like an infomercial.That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

 

[Oracle]

good lord!

 

[Sheila]

I don't think she's intentionally trying to be malicious. I really do think it's all innocent & she's just not really grasping the repercussions that this type of marketing would have on the Home Office. But since it's posted on a HUGE FB forum with 5,447 members (a lot of them newer consultants looking for ideas) ~ I'm afraid this sucker is going to take off & go viral in the consultant circles!!! I posted in that forum, but I know many will ignore it. I figured posted it here as a warning might help some people understand why it's not a good idea. Feel free to share with your downline/upline to help spread the word! It's better to let your guests see, touch and use your products so that they can make educated buying decisions than to convince them to just try it ~ under no obligation to keep it. Doris would probably cry if she saw this. I bet Warren would blow a gasket.Oy! The financial repercussions ... I just can't imagine how much this would cost HO if it goes viral!

 

[esavvymom]

Not to mention if customers started doing it en mass then HO could actually CHANGE the return policy! I would be tempted to "innocently " email it to HO and ask if this is true?

 

[DebPC]

PC's return policies are so great- wouldn't want them to change them.

 

[Sheila]

Yes, I also thought about the implications it would have down the road on our return policy. They've already had to crack down on cookware due to crazy claims. I'd hate to see this impact valid returns.

 

[Bren706]

Even it it was their policy to accept all returns, I still don't think it would be a good marketing tool. It kind of downplays the quality of the product if we market that we accept alot of returns. KWIM?

 

[Sheila]

They do have a good warranty & satisfaction guarantee policy. And because of their high standards on what products they will endorse and their level of customer care, they've built the amazing reputation that they currently have. But if they implemented this type of "infomercial" marketing as an ongoing promotion, it would definitely be their financial downfall. That's why when you see infomercials, their deal is always for a "limited time only". Those companies can't afford to do them full time. Reputable companies like Pampered Chef don't need a gimmick to sell their product. The product and the company's reputation do that for them.

 

[Dina Atnip]

I never saw it till chef success so hopefully everyone I know didn't either thanks Sheila

 

[lt1jane]

I saw this today on someone's page. I sent them a link to this page and asked them to check out this discussion. It's good intentions gone wrong.

 

[KateInTheKitchen]

First: Holy smokes! Second: Is that even true? I tell people there is a 30 day satisfaction guarantee (and so far, I don't think anybody has sent anything back in that time), but that there is a 1-year (min) warranty – which is totally different! Can you send back a fully functional product for a refund within the year?

 

[Sheila]

The Certificate of Guarantee is on the back of your 2-ply/3-ply order forms.Yes, they will take back a non-consumable product within the 1st year. The first 30 days is with them giving you a shipping label. Days 31-365 would be at the customer's shipping expense.However, Home Office does not encourage consultants to market a "try it FREE for a year" promotion. We want our customers to purchase things that they like and will use to make their time in the kitchen easier. We want them to love the product. If they can't imagine their life without the product, even better! LOL We don't want them to impulse shop with the preplanned notion of keeping it for 10 or 11 months and then sending it back to try something else. If enough customers did that, it could cause any company to go bankrupt.

 

[Sheila]

Thanks Jane for helping to spread the word. The faster we can squash this one the better it will be for Pampered Chef in the long run. I still don't feel like the person who designed it meant any harm, I just don't think that they fully grasped the financial impact that it could have on the Home Office. And, as I mentioned earlier, it could result in short term profit for the consultant, but in the long run when people start returning stuff & HO starts deducting that amount & any overrides that the sale originally caused ... it would end up hurting the consultant AND their uplines.

 

[CookinWithLynda]

What a nightmare!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree - I don't think this was done to be malicious. It's probably someone trying to show customers another way PC believes in their products and wants the customer to be satisfied. But, good grief, NOT like this!

This is something to be mentioned at a show to let everyone know that PC stands behind their products: "If something doesn't perform as you thought it would, you can return it within the first year and pay only return s&h." BUT - people will use this as an excuse to return that stone they never got around to using, the salad spinner they don't use because they have to pull it out of the back of the cabinet...or whatever other reason someone can come up with just because they haven't taken the time or effort to learn to love their item! Or only ordered something from their friends show so she could get the...(fill in the blank)!